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Quality & Patient Safety

Quality & Patient Safety

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ABOUT THIS SITE

Nothing is more important to our caregivers than patient safety and the quality of the care we provide.

This website will provide you with an unvarnished look at the quality and patient safety data that we report quarterly to the federal government. Our goals are transparency and timeliness. We want you, our patient, to be able to ask the right questions of your health care providers so that you can receive the best care possible and, consequently, achieve the best outcome possible.

Between now and January of 2018, we will continue to add new quality measures tracked by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services to this site and update the existing measures with the latest data.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

There are so many different quality and patient safety ratings out there. How is this one any different? Why should I pay attention to this one?

The increased focus in recent years on quality of care and patient safety has many organizations (aside from the government) trying to rate hospitals. Two main challenges exist with those measures:

Often the data are old (as much as five years) and do not accurately reflect the current status of a hospital.

Many times those same rating organizations are trying to sell consulting services to the hospitals they are evaluating, causing a potential conflict of interest.

The Hospital Compare website offers the most promising attempt to rate hospitals on measures that are based on scientific evidence. Carilion’s quality site is a direct extension of Hospital Compare. The main difference is that the data is more current on Carilion’s site (an average of 6-12 months old, versus 12 – 18 months old on Hospital Compare).

What are the similarities and differences between Hospital Compare and this site?

The similarities: The measures shown on the Hospital Compare site are the same ones shown on Carilion’s site. Most of the language used on Hospital Compare is the same language used on Carilion’s site. Those researching the two will be able to make easy comparisons between the data. Likewise, Carilion’s site also shows state and national benchmarks as a comparison.

The differences: Hospital Compare only includes data from Medicare and Medicaid patients. Carilion’s site includes data from all patients. Carilion has also added a section to each measure indicating ways in which a patient and his/her family can take a leading role in their own health care.

What questions should I ask my health care provider to ensure I receive the highest quality of care?

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality recommends asking these top 10 questions:

What is this test for?

How many times have you done this procedure?

When will I get the results?

Why do I need this treatment?

Are there any alternatives?

What are the possible complications?

Which hospital is best for my needs?

How do you spell the name of that drug?

Are there any side effects?

Will this medicine interact with medicines that I’m already taking?

What is the best way to use the Carilion Patient Safety and Quality web site?

If you are able to ahead of time, research the measures associated with your condition. Keep notes to discuss with your care provider when you meet with him/her.

All of the measures are not included on this website. Why? When will they be?

For the measures we are reporting on this website, some hospitals or measures may not be shown because we had fewer than 10 cases to report.

We are updating the website quarterly with additional measures. Our hope is to have all measures (approximately 50) where we have enough data to report up on the website within the next two years. In the meantime, please visit Hospital Compare.